I wish I could help you acheda, I actually found one yesterday at the wrecking yard, someone had transplanted a nissan med duty 6 cyl diesel into a 70's Dodge, backed by a five speed, and then backed by a 2 speed brownie. Too bad you are across the country, I would probably have been able to get it out for you.

 

. . . that didn't come out right . . .

bghnkinf250,

Thanks for the offer, but I am now committed to the Roadranger. Other than the "fun" of twin stick shifting, I think that the Roadranger is a better solution for me. I have "spliced" overdrives onto 4-speeds twice in my life. A three-planetary Borg-Warner onto a T-10 and a four-planetary onto a T-98. The latter served me well for a dozen 5,000# cross-country loads on a trailer -- being able to split gears really helps on a long grade. Anyway, I am eager to use the Roadranger's five speeds with the integral range section and single-stick shifting. The Roadranger I purchased for $900 only has some 25,000 miles on it, so it is at the beginning of its life. If I used my NP-540 and a Brownie, I would probably have to rebuild both of them.

All in all, I would like to see the Brownie you turned up in a vehicle again, but I do not expect to be building up another truck after this F-350.

P.S.: I am a transplanted Californian and my Daughter still lives in San Luis Obispo. If I needed a Brownie, I'd be all over the one you found . . .

 

thanks for the info. i would actually have 4 sticks in the cab if i did this, as the NP205 would be twin sticked too. i am a fan of twin sticking, and for the most part, i could leave the the 6041 in one gear. with the prospect of a diesel, i would just like to stay closer to the power band and have more gears for driving off road and hunting. some are simply too high for my style. not to mention that i like confusing people that try to drive my rigs...

 

460/5,

My Dad's Brownie was cable-shifted and my Dad had the **** tucked up under the dash to the left of the steering column. He had a vacuum trailer brake valve that partly hid the **** from view, but it was very easy to reach when you knew where it was. He always left the keys in the ignition and more than once a friend attempted to move the truck, but after starting the engine, found that they could not make it go because my Dad left the Brownie in neutral.

 

lol. thats the kind of thing im goin for. i relish the idea having ultra low gears and super highway gears and everything in between too.

 

I just discovered this thread... about eight years ago I put a 5831-B behind the NP435 in my '65 F-350 dually. Not exactly the ratios I wanted (2.35, 1, 0.85) since I was looking for a taller OD to go with my 4.88 rear, but for $400 shipped to my door it was a decent deal and really clean inside. Yes, the front oil seal looked good but I immediately discovered that it leaks like a sieve. New one was easily obtained from a truck parts place but I haven't got around to installing it yet.

I fabbed up heavy side mounts using 6" U-channel and 1/4" plate, isolated from angle-iron frame brackets by rubber bushings I got from McMaster-Carr. Shifter linkage is 1/2" steel rods to a cheap 3-speed shifter mounted on the frame rail. Front driveshaft is just two yokes that slip-spline together. The bottom of the brownie is the lowest point on the truck but it's still 11" off the ground, plenty of clearance.

The granny is really useful in very low-speed situations both forward and backwards. It also impresses riders when I upshift twice in reverse Floating or double clutching is pretty simple with a bit of practice. The .85 is not a perfect split since the ratio spreads in the NP435 are exactly 2:1 between each of the first three gears and 60% from 3rd to 4th. So with light loads I tend to use only 2, 3, 3OD, 4OD (shifting the brownie only once) and when more heavily laden, 1, 2, 2OD, 3, 3OD, 4, 4OD which obviously requires a bit of "twin-sticking".

It's a bit whiny in overdrive but the truck is already so noisy it doesn't matter much. I have a set of 4.10 gears for the Dana and if I ever get around to installing those, my cruising rpm will be right about where I want it.

-Charles

 

Would anybody be able to tell me where a good place would be to find a rear bearing retainer for a 5831? My mainshaft has a bit of play, and the man I bought the 5831 from suspected it was a retainer. I am starting to suspect he is right since it is also popping out of direct. Thanks for any help with it.

 

Yes it can. 6041 ratios are LL-2.14, L-1.24, D-1.00, O-.86
With the ZF-5 in od a 4.10 final drive with the typical 3/4 ton pu tire diameter 65 mph should be about 1500-1600 RPM. Finding a shifter can be a problem.
I bought my 7231B from Acme in Stockton California for $850. It had been inspected as serviceable and I checked it out as well. They had about 200 6000/7000/8000 series spicers and 1 shifter. The 6041 has the same oil capacity as the 7231B, 8-pints. I will assume they are about the same physical size. 22-inches over drive flanges and 275 pounds. I spoke with John in the Acme transmission shop a few times before deciding on the 7231B. It is supposed to be quieter than the 5000 or 6000 series. Mine is definitely quieter than I expected. I mounted mine divorced behind the transfer case. I use mine as a splitter so it would always be in direct in 4WD. Also, any time I am in 4WD the speeds are below 35 MPH.
Relocating the transfer case may result in 2 divorced transmissions.
I spent more time than planned to get mine aligned properly and eliminate vibration. You can see my installation, ratio table and alignment worksheet in my photo album. A question is what problem do you expect to alleviate by the installation ? My problem was quite simple. I needed better gearing for mountain driving but the truck must be available for the wife to drive when necessary. My original plan was a Roadranger since an air system is already in place to operate the exhaust brake. But, the necessity of having it available for the wifes use made that a no-go. Was looking at the Mack TRTL-722 Triplex ratio chart. Drove B-61's with the the 15-speed transmission. Really nice, 300 RPM even splits. My origional transmission was the T-19B, the supposed close ratio box for the 6.9. Worked all the ratio combinations and had my T-19 converted into the A wide ratio version. With the 7231B that by the way is the same ratio set, minus LL, as the 6041 the ratios were very close to the TRTL-722. My splits are 350-RPM since I run 600 RPM faster than the Mack diesel. Why did I go to the trouble, mountain driving with a trailer. With a turbo-diesel the limiting factor, other than safe speed, is exhaust temperature. Pulling the I5 grapevine South into LA most of the 24 miles is in 4U (4th in the main box and under drive in the Spicer), there is a short stretch of 3O. Why is that, to keep EGT within safe limits. On mine that is 850F. The grapevine North is 4U the entire 24 miles. Going east on US50 from Lake Tahoe East over Spooner is 4U East and 3O West. Without the splitter I'd be in 3rd and 15MPH less road speed. Doesn't sound like much until your in a situation where your running 40-50 miles uphill such as US50 from Placerville to Lake Tahoe. I'll run 4U out of Placerville with a short stretch of 3O from Twin Bridges to Camp Sacramento, about 5 miles. Loaded with trailer is just under 12,000 pounds. I start out in 1O, 2O, 3D, 3O, (then depending on road conditions) 4U, 4D, 4O. Since the 6041 LL is 2.14 I would only ever consider it for starting on a grade with the ZF-5. My T-19A has a deep 1st so the 6041 LL would never see use. Anyhow, hope this helps. If you decide to move forward would love to see pictures.

 

the idea was to put the spicer between the trans and transfer case on a 77 highboy, which comes from the factory with a divorced t-case. the truck has a 7.3 IDI with the ZF-5 swapped into it. since i am unable to get the truck, im back to the drawing board. however, if i ever DO do a project like that, keep an out it in the 73-79 section, cause thats where i spend most of my time, seeings as i have two such trucks. and thanks for the input!

 

I have this brownie that I had bought years ago. I always thought it was a 3 spd but now I think it is a two speed. It is still in the old truck and I crawled under it and I am pretty sure the model number says Model 39M1 I cant find anything on this on the web does anyone here have any information? Thanks in advance

On the info plate it says Watson Brown Lipe Spicer

 

I just finished installing a 5531 spicer in my 51 ford f6. the high side on my rear axle is 5.83:1 so the .72 OD really makes the truck more enjoyable to drive long distances. Of course the little fladhead does not have enough *** to pull anything in 4OD but it is still a blast to drive. I was lucky enough to find a shifter still in the box from a truck salvage yard in colorodo. I changed all the seals and one bearing and it runs smooth as silk. I made my own mounting bracket and shift rods, but it was not to much of a hassle to fab up. The most expensive part was getting new drive shafts made.

 

If anyone is interested, found these on ebay today

brown lipe, Collectibles. Great deals on eBay!

Brownie Aux Transmission : eBay Motors (item 330396892985 end time Jan-25-10 19:50:22 PST)

 

That is a heck of a price on that last one.

 

anybody know where i can find a 6041 for a decent price?

 

I just bought a truck with an Old Watson two speed that was installed aftermarket. I think its a direct / OD unit.

Does anyone know where I can find info on Watson's...ratios, duty ratings, etc.